Thaks for the advice and everything guys. It is with a heavy heart and a lot of frustration when I say I will have to put the tank on hold for at least another month or two. I was told by an IRS lady that I will be getting audited and will have to wait at least a month until I might see the check. This is a bummer as I had a bunch of stuff on hold at my LFS... I won't give up, just delay the inevitable...More time to learn one supposses.

Ok, so I finally got my check, paid off necessary bills, and have begun the process of starting my tank. I decided to to upgrade to a 29g tank as it has the same foot print as the 20L but a bit taller. Luckily, Petco is having a great sale, $1.00 per gallon for all tanks up to I think 55g. I have ordered 2 Koraline nano 425gph pumps, 24# of LR, 2 100 W heaters, and a H.O.B. skimmer/sump set up (a bit leary about how this will work out, but I figured it could only help as it will add extra water movement and will be a place to put some mud/LR particles/chaeto etc.) I have a question as to what to do next. Can I start the cycle with a live sand/crushed coral mix, or do I wait for EVERYTHING to get in? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I would not add any crushed coral as it will be hard to remove later.Get the things that you need then start your cycle. That would be enough LR and you really don't need LS as Aragonite dry is much cheaper and twice as good, the sand was more then likely sitting on your dealers shelf and is no longer live anyway.
So get your rock, Power heads and circulating pump then you can start your cycle,
Test the water at your home it may not be good enough for a reef setup and you may need a RO/DI system.

Ok, so my base rock and two 425 Koralia water movers. I washed the rock off, it was extremely dirty, and have placed it in the tank. I don't have the heaters yet so I haven't mixed any water yet but I am hoping to get my heaters tomorrow and start cycling thereafter. I am really pleased with the rock sculpting and will try to load up some pictures tomorrow. I'm off to drink some beers and celebrate my nations "bday." happy almost 4th everybody...

I finally got everything in and have the tank up and cycling. It is still really cloudy because I decided to add black sand as the substrate. I threw the dead shrimp in a plastic ziplock bag, poked a bunch of holes in it and threw it in the tank so the cycle will start. When it clears up I will try and post some pictures. Day 1 begins...